Dallas Road Crews Mistake Public Art for Dumpster. (Not Really. They Were Just Being Irresponsible.)

Yesterday it was documented that some Dallas roadworks contractors had been using the beloved public sculpture at the entrance to Deep Ellum as a dumping ground. Loose bricks, open bags of concrete and other refuse were strewn around and right up to the shiny steel birds that are part of the “Traveling Man” sculpture series by Brad Oldham and Brandon Oldenburg, commissioned by Dallas Area Rapid Transit in 2008. DART has been notified and as of yesterday was working to get the garbage removed.

Roadworks and construction throughout Deep Ellum are heavy and ongoing. The birds, called “Awakening,” are vulnerable to public disruption (and are built to withstand a lot, which is good because they’re close to the road and in a neighborhood known for bars and high traffic), but this construction-crew sloppiness is pretty insulting.

Christina Rees is Senior Texas Editor at Glasstire. In the past, she served as an editor at both The Met and D Magazine, as a full-time art and music critic at the Dallas Observer during its golden years, and covered art and music for the Village Voice and other publications. A former resident of New York City and London, Rees currently lives in Dallas, where she was the owner and director of Road Agent gallery. Rees was the curator of Fort Worth Contemporary Arts from 2009 to 2013, where her exhibitions included Death of a Propane Salesman: Anxiety and the Texas Artist; Liam Gillick: …and other short films; M: Let’s Build a Fort!; Michael Bise: Epilogues; Rufus Corporation: Yuri’s Office (with Noah Simblist); and Kevin Todora and Jeff Zilm: Gaffes and Informations. Her recent independent curatorial projects include Modern Ruin and Modern Ruin II: Quick and Dirty (both with Thomas Feulmer). She was a curator for the 2013 Texas Biennial.

1 Response

Well, many here in Dallas would have a lot to say about the proximity of trash and debris next to the “sculpture”… suffice it to say that from my perspective, I’m angry at those shiny birds/expensive chairs… very angry